The Combined Contribution of Fear and Perceived Danger of COVID-19 and Metacognitions to Anxiety Levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite a wide base of research suggesting a major role for dysfunctional metacognitions in contributing to anxiety, their role in explaining psychological distress in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic remains unclear. In this study we investigated whether metacognitions would predict anxiety, while controlling for fear and perceived danger of COVID-19. A total of 862 individuals were included in this study. Participants completed sociodemographic questions, emotional state questions relating to COVID-19, the Metacognitions Questionnaire‐30, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. Results showed that both negative beliefs about thoughts concerning uncontrollability and danger, and cognitive self-consciousness were significant predictors of anxiety beyond the fear and perceived danger of COVID-19. Future studies involving clinical populations are needed to investigate the longer-term impact of metacognitions in the maintenance and exacerbation of anxiety associated with the fear and perceived danger of COVID-19.

Hispanic and Latinx Police Officers’ Perceptions of the Working Environment

The percentage of police officers identifying as Hispanic or Latinx is steadily rising nationwide, yet relatively little research has examined this group’s occupational attitudes. Police culture research has identified officers’ perceptions of danger and cynicism toward the public as core concepts. No research to date has examined whether or how Hispanic and Latinx officers might differ from their White colleagues on these occupational attitudes. The present study uses data from a survey of police officers in a large, municipal department. Hispanic and Latinx officers are compared to White peers on perceived danger and cynicism. Results show that Hispanic and Latinx officers feel higher levels of danger but are less cynical. Implications for research and police policy are discussed.

High Perceived Susceptibility to and Severity of COVID-19 in Smokers Are Associated with Quitting-Related Behaviors

A growing body of evidence shows smoking is a risk factor for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We examined the associations of quitting-related behaviors with perceived susceptibility to and severity of COVID-19 in smokers. We conducted a telephone survey of 659 community-based adult smokers (81.7% male) in Hong Kong, where there was no lockdown. Exposure variables were perceptions that smoking can increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 (perceived susceptibility) and its severity if infected (perceived severity). Outcome variables were quit attempts, smoking reduction since the outbreak of the pandemic, and intention to quit within 30 days. Covariates included sex, age, education, heaviness of smoking, psychological distress, and perceived danger of COVID-19. High perceived susceptibility and severity were reported by 23.9% and 41.7% of participants, respectively. High perceived susceptibility was associated with quit attempts (prevalence ratio (PR) 2.22, 95% CI 1.41–3.49), smoking reduction (PR 1.75, 95% CI 1.21–2.51), and intention to quit (PR 2.31, 95% CI 1.40–3.84). Perceived severity of COVID-19 was associated with quit attempts (PR 1.64, 95% CI 1.01–2.67) but not with smoking reduction or intention to quit. To conclude, the perceived susceptibility to and severity of COVID-19 in smokers were associated with quitting-related behaviors in current smokers, which may have important implications for smoking cessation amid the pandemic.

Time-critical decentralised situational awareness in emergencies: an adversarial biosecurity scenario

Crises in a global setting of interdependencies call for time-critical coordinated responses. However, it is often the case that the mechanisms responsible for these actions do not agree across all their hierarchies. This can be roughly attributed to personal estimations of the situation and to social influence. An ensuing lack of consensus against crises can be dire and echo across entire populations. One such instance is the case of biosecurity threats. A particularly interesting class of threats lie within urban environments, which tend to fall within the scope of bad actors. With this work we aim to computationally contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of perceived danger formation among agents responsible for responding to ongoing biological attacks in urban settings. We assume this perception is a function of a personal estimation of local information about the danger and of social influence stemming from the agents in question framed in an agent-based model. The simulations point towards a high dependence of perceived dangers on the personal estimations of the agents. The conditions under which the perceived dangers deviate from the real ones are explored over a range of assumptions on personal measurements and several dispositions towards the influencing environment. The insight provided by these results at the individual and collective level set the tone for further investigation on such behavioural phenomena, providing a flexible computational framework addressing generic threats (true dangers) in a time-critical context.

Are trees and shrubs unsafe hiding places? Impact of plant forms on the perception of danger in urban green spaces in crime hot spots

Urban parks and forests are important for wellbeing, but feelings of unsafety limited their usage. Removal of vegetation from hotspots of fear is sometimes recommended as a means of boosting safety. However such actions should be approached with caution. One explanation, based on prospect-refuge theory, is that plants increase perceptions of danger because of their contribution to a setting’s effectiveness in concealing criminals. It is also believed that people do not like urban green spaces parks containing trees and shrubs that can act as hiding places because of the sense of danger that this vegetation evokes. To test this explanation, participants rated 57 photos of urban parks and forest parks settings park settings on perceived danger, effectiveness of concealment, and landscape preference. In addition, the effectiveness of concealment in the photos was measured assuming that the value of this variable is expressed by the percentage of the pixels occupied by trees and shrubs offering concealment in a photograph. Results confirmed that concealment and danger are highly correlated mediation analysis confirmed that the impact of concealment on preferences can be explained by perceived danger. When the danger was controlled, the efficiency of concealment had no influence on preferences.

Are trees and shrubs unsafe hiding places? Impact of plant forms on the perception of danger in urban green spaces in crime hot spots

Urban parks and forests are important for wellbeing, but feelings of unsafety limited their usage. Removal of vegetation from hotspots of fear is sometimes recommended as a means of boosting safety. However such actions should be approached with caution. One explanation, based on prospect-refuge theory, is that plants increase perceptions of danger because of their contribution to a setting’s effectiveness in concealing criminals. It is also believed that people do not like urban green spaces parks containing trees and shrubs that can act as hiding places because of the sense of danger that this vegetation evokes. To test this explanation, participants rated 57 photos of urban parks and forest parks settings park settings on perceived danger, effectiveness of concealment, and landscape preference. In addition, the effectiveness of concealment in the photos was measured assuming that the value of this variable is expressed by the percentage of the pixels occupied by trees and shrubs offering concealment in a photograph. Results confirmed that concealment and danger are highly correlated mediation analysis confirmed that the impact of concealment on preferences can be explained by perceived danger. When the danger was controlled, the efficiency of concealment had no influence on preferences.

Complementary and integrative medicines methods used by internal medicine and surgical clinic nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: This study is a descriptive study conducted to investigate the use of Complementary and Integrative Medicines (CIM) among internal medicine and surgical clinic nurses in the COVID-19 pandemic period. Materials and methods: The study sample consisted of 1112 nurses working at the internal medicine and surgical clinics of a hospital in eastern Turkey. The data were collected between November 2020 and February 2021 by using a Nurse Identification Form and a Questionnaire Form for Complementary/Integrative Treatment. Ethics board approval and institutional permission were obtained. Results: It was determined that 55.2% of the participants used at least one of the CIM methods, the most frequently used method was herbal treatment-phytotherapy (96.7%), and the least frequently used method was homeopathy (3.1%). On CIM usage, the having received CIM training (β=0.395), high levels of perceived danger regarding the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on health (β=0.321), high levels of perceived infection probability (β=0.249), high levels of concern about being in crowded places (β=0.187), high levels of concern about getting the infection in oneself and/or family members (β=0.262) and being at the ages of 40-50 (β=0.116) had predictive effects. Conclusions: It was determined that the majority of the nurses used CIM methods in the COVID-19 pandemic process, and they preferred herbal treatment most. To prevent a negative outcome that may potentially be caused by a CIM method that is used, it is recommended to provide nurses with training on CIM use for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Psychosocial aspects of perception and emotional experience of older adults during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Slovakia

The older population is considered one of those with the highest risk of severe coronavirus infection (Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic, 2020). This study is a part of research focused on the analysis of the psychosocial aspects of the perception and emotional experience of older Slovak adults as a risk group during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: The first aim of this research was to examine how older adults in Slovakia perceived and experienced the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were focused on their negative emotional experience – the levels of perceived stress, anxiety and concern (regarding a fear of COVID-19 infection). The second aim was to identify differences in negative emotional experience in older adults according to demographic characteristics. The final aim was to analyze the demographic and psychological characteristics of those groups of older adults who reported extremely low and extremely high levels of negative emotional experience (perceived stress, anxiety, or concern). Method: The research was conducted online during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were 607 adults from Slovakia; 429 women and 178 men aged 61-93 (M = 68.97; SD = 4.76). They completed a State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, State version (Spielberger et al., 1983), a Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983), and the authors’ scales focused on the assessment of the levels of fear of COVID-19 infection (concern), satisfaction with health, powerlessness, ability to deal with the situation of pandemic, loneliness, social isolation, and perceived danger of COVID-19 for themselves, their families and friends and people in Slovakia. Jamovi 1.6.15 and IBM SPSS Statistics 25 software (t-test, Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients, one-way ANOVA, Chi-square) were used for data analysis. Results: Descriptive analyses showed that older adults experienced low levels of perceived stress, moderate levels of anxiety, and moderate levels of concern during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. They reported moderate satisfaction with health, low levels of powerlessness, high levels of perceived ability to deal with the situation of the pandemic, moderate levels of loneliness and social isolation, and moderate to high levels of perceived danger of COVID-19 for themselves, their families and friends and people in Slovakia. The second step of the analyses was focused on the differences in perceived stress, anxiety, and concern according to demographic characteristics (gender, employment status, marital status, and household composition). Between-group analyses showed only gender differences in anxiety and concern – women reported higher levels of anxiety and concern than men. The third step of the analyses was focused on the comparison of the demographic and psychological characteristics between the groups of older adults who experienced extremely low and extremely high levels of negative emotions during the pandemic. Two groups were observed only in the case of concern: group 1 with older adults reporting an extremely low fear of COVID-19 infection (n = 51) and group 2 with older adults reporting an extremely high fear of COVID-19 infection (n = 40). Regarding the demographic characteristics, the two groups of older adults differed significantly only in gender – more women than men experienced an extremely high concern that they would be infected with coronavirus. Age distribution was equivalent across both groups – the mean age of older adults in group 1 and group 2 was 69.49 and 69.90 years, respectively. The two groups were also comprised of similar numbers of older adults who were single, married, divorced, or widowed and those who lived alone, with a spouse, with a spouse and children, or with children and family. However, significant differences between the two groups were found in psychological characteristics – older adults with extremely high concern reported low satisfaction with health, high powerlessness, low ability to deal with the situation of the pandemic, high loneliness and social isolation, and high perceived danger of COVID-19 for themselves, their families and friends and people in Slovakia. Limits and conclusions: One of the limitations of the research is that no data were obtained from older adults who were clients of social service facilities; mainly due to restrictions and measures existing at the time of data collection. The research sample consisted only of older adults who lived in their home environment and communicated via social networks. Online skills could have enabled them to search for information about the pandemic or to stay in contact with other people. All this could have positively affected their perception and emotional experience during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in contrast to the clients of the social service facilities. Despite this limitation, the research study has brought important findings. It showed that older adults did not experience the first wave of the pandemic only negatively and uncovered a risk group of older adults which was at increased risk of negative psychological effects (concern) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The identification of people who are most vulnerable in the elderly population is a key element for providing specific and effective psychological or social assistance.

Predictors of Anxiety, Stress, and Concern of COVID-19 Infection in Older Adults During the First and the Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Slovakia

Objectives: This cross-sectional online study examined the role of socio-demographic and psychological characteristics in predicting anxiety, stress, and concern of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in older adults during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia. Methods: Six hundred and seven older adults (Sample 1) and 156 older adults (Sample 2) participated in the study during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. The older adults completed a battery of validated instruments for anxiety, stress, concern of COVID-19 infection (outcome variables), satisfaction with health, perceived danger of COVID-19, loneliness, intolerance of uncertainty (IU), optimism, powerlessness, and coping self-efficacy (predictor variables). The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results: The older adults in both samples experienced moderate levels of anxiety, stress, and concern of COVID-19 infection. The greatest amount of variability in anxiety and stress was explained by powerlessness, IU, optimism, and coping self-efficacy. Concern of COVID-19 infection was best predicted by the perceived danger of COVID-19. Conclusion: The findings contribute to the existing knowledge about the mental health of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the role of the psychological predictors of anxiety, stress, and concern of COVID-19 infection during both waves.